


Finding Something To Do

by lemonmangosorbet



Series: Extension Of You [4]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Selfcare, but there is a surprising lack of porn in this first chapter (lmao), finally providing some of the domestic fluff they both deserve :'), rated explicit for now due to the content in later chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-08-19 22:17:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16543340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonmangosorbet/pseuds/lemonmangosorbet
Summary: Eddie awoke to the smell of something burning. He was laying on his stomach, arms and legs sprawled across the mattress, taking up most of the available space. The bed was empty, which meant: no Venom, and he was the most likely culprit for the smell that was filling the apartment.Eddie and Venom's relationship makes more progress, and as Eddie falls into pleasant domesticity, he makes a realisation too.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Credit goes to [this post](http://dsudis.tumblr.com/post/179501658979/eddies-apartment) I found on tumblr that obsessively notes the details of Eddie's apartment in the movie! When I wrote my last fic, I had a feeling that he lived in a studio apartment.... thanks to that post for confirming it!! (so ignore that part in _Flesh_ where I said they went to the bedroom. everything's in one room sdghkjf- I'll go back and correct _Flesh_ when I've got the time)
> 
> As usual, to those of you reading this update: enjoy!

Eddie awoke to the smell of something burning. He was laying on his stomach, arms and legs sprawled across the mattress, taking up most of the available space. The bed was empty, which meant: no Venom, and he was the most likely culprit for the smell that was filling the apartment.

 

Eddie rubbed the sleep from his eyes and rolled over in bed. He sat up and pulled the covers off. He’d been wrong; Venom was in bed, well _part_ of him. Venom’s physical form extended from Eddie’s body like a snake, off the bed and onto the floor, and around the partition between where the bed was in the apartment and the main living area. Time to investigate what Venom was up to.

 

Eddie picked up some sweatpants and a t-shirt off the floor. He gave the t-shirt a sniff before pulling it over his head; seemed clean enough. He proceeded to the main living area, surprised to find Venom in the kitchen. That wasn’t entirely true; he _might_ have been surprised were it not for the burnt smell stinking out the apartment.

 

Most of Venom was snaking through the apartment to the kitchen area. He was in front of the toaster oven, a floating head and a tendril wearing one of the oven mitts, pulling a tray of burnt tater tots from it.

 

Eddie’s presence didn’t go unnoticed,

 

**“Good Morning Eddie.”**

 

“Good morning to you too.” Eddie mussed his bed hair as he took in the situation before him, “Uh, what you up to buddy?”

 

**“Cooking you breakfast. You must get back into bed so we can serve it to you there. Breakfast in bed.”**

 

“Breakfast? Of tater tots?”

 

**“Yes. Our favourite. After chocolate.”**

 

Eddie approached the island in the middle of the kitchen area, the one he had fixed himself after Drake’s goons destroyed it when they raided his apartment. Venom placed the baking tray full of tater tots on the surface, then looked up at Eddie and smiled. He tried his best to smile back; the tater tots were charred, maybe salvageable. At least they weren’t totally black.

 

“Where’d you get this idea?” Eddie pondered, more to himself rather than a question aimed at Venom.

 

He picked one of the less burnt tater tots from the tray and popped it into his mouth, trying to be polite. Eddie chewed and swallowed the morsel, but he didn’t plan on eating any more.

 

“I really need to teach you what’s socially acceptable as breakfast food.”

 

Eddie’s musings turned into him going through the few kitchen cupboards he had. There wasn’t much food to speak of, but if there was a competition for the most number of condiments in one home, he might win. Mustard, ketchup, maple syrup.... Pancakes might be an option?

 

Eddie returned to the bedroom area, searching for a clean sweatshirt on the floor and his sneakers.

 

Venom followed, his head floating around Eddie as he sat on the bed to pull his shoes on.

 

**“Where are we going Eddie?”**

 

“Time to do some grocery shopping.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 **“Now what?”** Venom asked, curious. He was currently manifesting as a small blob sat on Eddie’s shoulder, watching him prepare their breakfast.

 

“Now we mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones.” he answered, pouring the milk and egg mixture into the the flour, then stirring it in with a whisk.

 

Grocery shopping hadn’t been that elaborate; all it entailed was heading to Mrs. Chen’s convenience store, which was only a few minutes away, and grabbing a few basics. Milk, eggs, flour. Eddie had paused in an aisle when he noticed the chocolate syrup, and when he took it to the counter, Mrs. Chen had made a face.

 

_“Thought you were going to try and get healthy soon Eddie. Healthy body equals healthy mind.”_

 

Her words rang in Eddie’s head as he poured some of the batter into a hot frying pan. At least homemade pancakes were better than tater tots; that was surely a start in the right direction.

 

As Eddie flipped the pancake to cook the other side, he glanced sideways at his shoulder. Venom’s gaze was transfixed on the frying pan and the pancakes they were producing. It made Eddie feel a little bad; Venom was so fascinated, yet this was the first time they'd cooked something from scratch together in the apartment. What the hell had they been doing before this moment? They ate out a lot, mostly food on the go, and they seemed to live off convenience food. To be honest, Eddie had been eating like that since he moved out of Annie’s.

 

_**‘Eddie. No more bad thoughts.’** _

 

Venom’s voice shook Eddie from his train of thought and instead he decided to focus on the pancakes.

 

Once all the batter was gone, and a stack of warm pancakes was ready for eating, Eddie took them over the the small table by the window. He set them up with two plates, cutlery, and a choice of maple or chocolate syrup. He sat on one of the chairs, while Venom extended from his torso, his head floating before his own plate.

 

“Help yourself.”

 

 **“Thank you Eddie.”** Venom said as a tendril formed and pulled a pancake from the stack onto his plate.

 

“Maple syrup is sorta what you’d traditionally have with pancakes, but I figured you might want to try the chocolate one.”

 

Venom didn’t even bother trying the maple syrup; he went straight for the chocolate, squeezing a huge dollop onto his pancake.

 

“Hey hey hey! Not so much!”

 

Eddie grabbed the bottle from Venom before he emptied the entire thing onto his plate.

 

It didn’t take Venom long to devour his single pancake drenched in chocolate syrup, he practically ate it in one bite. But he didn’t eat anymore unless Eddie told him to help himself. He seemed to be waiting for Eddie to have his fill first, at least, that’s what Eddie presumed.

 

As Venom moved on to his second pancake, he thanked Eddie for breakfast again,

 

**“Thank you babe.”**

 

Eddie almost choked on the bite of pancake in his mouth.

 

“W-what did you say?”

 

 **“Thank you babe.”** Venom smiled as he said it.

 

Eddie was shocked to say the least; this was the first time Venom had called him anything other than Eddie, only if he excluded that time Venom called him a pussy.

 

“Where’d you learn that?”

 

**“TV.”**

 

“TV?”

 

Eddie had no idea what Venom was talking about. Sure, they had the TV in the apartment, but they were always out. And when they were in the apartment, watching TV was not usually on the agenda. In recent weeks they’d been much too busy with _other_ activities.

 

**“When you’re sleeping.”**

 

“Sleeping?” Eddie was even more confused.

 

**“Unlike humans, we do not need to sleep Eddie. We’re bored waiting for you to wake up and some nights there are not even dreams for us to watch.”**

 

“Oh.... So you’ve been watching TV, while I’m asleep?”

 

**“Yes.”**

 

Venom’s tendril moved towards the second to last pancake in the stack. Eddie nodded so he could take it. He knew he was a heavy sleeper, but to sleep through countless nights of Venom watching TV, he must have been a much heavier sleeper than he originally thought.

 

“And you got the idea to call me ‘babe’ from the TV shows you’ve been watching?” Eddie ended his sentence by popping a cut off of pancake into his mouth.

 

 **“Yes.”** Venom swallowed another chocolate drenched pancake in one bite, **“And I noticed from your memories that in previous relationships you often call your romantic partners ‘babe’.”**

 

Eddie moved uneasily in his seat. The last person he used ‘babe’ as a pet name with was Anne; it felt a little weird using it with Venom when only a few weeks ago he still thought he had a shot of getting Annie back.

 

 **“You don’t like it?”** Venom sensed Eddie’s unease.

 

“No! I mean, I don’t _mind_ using pet names, but maybe not that one, okay?”

 

**“Which then?”**

 

“Hmm.” Eddie mulled it over while he placed his cutlery in the middle of his empty, sticky plate. Venom noted it, and copied Eddie’s actions with his own cutlery, even though he hadn’t used them.

 

“How about darlin’?” Eddie suggested, mainly because it didn’t sound too cheesy and he’d never used it with another partner before.

 

 **“Yes.”** Venom grinned, **“We like that one.”**

 

“Good.” Eddie folded his arms, resting them on the table and leaning forward, closer to Venom. He smiled back, but he began to realise something.

 

“Hey V- I mean- hey, darlin’? Why did you decide to cook tater tots for breakfast?”

 

Eddie could feel something; Venom felt happy. He liked being called darling.

 

**“I saw it in a movie last night. It’s common for humans to bring breakfast in bed to a loved one.”**

 

“Ah, I see.”

 

Eddie felt strange. He couldn’t quite put a word on the feeling. Happy? Flattered? He wasn’t sure those really fit how he felt. He realised that Venom had tried to do something romantic for him, and it felt nice? But it also felt bizarre; they’d been together for weeks, but they were living day by day. Worrying about bills that were overdue, rent that needed paying, where Eddie was going to find Venom’s next fresh meal. They had a chaotic sleeping pattern due to the late nights, and when they weren’t out and about in the city, or working, the time they did spend in the apartment was preoccupied exploring Eddie’s body together.

 

Before this moment, they hadn’t actually made time for _romance_. This was probably the first romantic thing they’d done together where they’d kept most of Eddie's clothes on. He supposed if their relationship was going to be like any other ‘normal’ relationship, they should be more romantic. He couldn’t be sure, but he sensed that the thought made Venom content.

 

“But-”

 

 **“Yes my darling.”** Venom was obviously enjoying the new novelty of using pet names.

 

“I know you just want to do something nice for me, but next time, don’t cook breakfast while I’m asleep.”

 

**“Why not?”**

 

“Because if you burn something again, it might catch on fire, and I don’t really want to burn to death in my sleep.”

 

**“We wouldn’t let that happen to you Eddie. We’d get you out of the apartment.”**

 

Eddie pictured when Venom’s full form would manifest around him, and could see them jumping out of the window like they’ve done before, leaving the apartment block to it’s fate.

 

“That’s good. But I still don’t want to be responsible for the entire block burning down. So no cooking while I’m asleep, promise?”

 

**“Promise.”**

 

 

* * *

 

 

Eddie was sat on the stool at the breakfast bar, flicking between tabs on his internet browser. He reached over to grab his hot cup of coffee, and took a sip while he stared at his twitter timeline for what felt like the hundredth time in a few minutes. His coffee was black but sweet; he used to take it without sugar, but made the change because Venom preferred sweet things.

 

He was supposed to be working, but Eddie was distracted by the thought he’d had earlier when they were cooking breakfast. Maybe it was time to try and get his act together, and give his new life with Venom a bit more structure? This morning had been nice, getting groceries, and eating a proper meal together. They should do that more often. They’d been taking each day as it came, living on the go with no proper schedule. But Eddie wondered if Venom could benefit from a bit more routine?

 

To be quite frank with himself, he wasn’t even sure if he was doing the best job possible to care for Venom. Venom had looked after him immediately after they bonded, although that had been a life or death situation. But even now, weeks after their initial symbiosis, Venom was still taking care of Eddie, in more ways than just cooking tater tots for breakfast.

 

Eddie was surprised he hadn’t thought of it sooner; he opened a new tab and his fingers moved quickly over the keyboard as he typed something into Google search.

 

 _ **‘Doesn’t look like work Eddie.’**_ Venom commented.

 

“No. But I think we should make time for a check-up. Don’t you?”

 

_**‘Whatever you say my darling.’** _

 

Eddie smiled as he hit the enter key; he was still getting used to the unfamiliarity of hearing the term of endearment in Venom’s voice.

 

The web page loaded the results from the search, and Eddie began scrolling through, looking for the information he needed.

 

“Bingo.” he found it, “Time to pay Dr. Skirth a visit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LISTEN; the one thing I will not forgive the Venom movie for is killing off Dr. Dora Skirth in the lamest way ever. She's a woman working in science....she deserves better!! So in this au we're going to pretend that Carlton Drake never forced her to become host to one of the other symbiotes. She lives!!! and she will play a role in my story :3c
> 
> You will have noticed that this fic is multi-chaptered. This is because the ideas I have for Part 4 are quite extensive, but all related, so I didn't want to split it up into different parts. Instead, this one part should be about 3-4 chapters.
> 
> well, this series took a surprising turn into fluff after all that porn lmao. I hope this is what you all signed up for??? Let me know what you think, I always love hearing from you guys in the comments ❤️


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _**‘We don’t like the bus Eddie.’** Venom sulked._
> 
> _Eddie attempted to keep his voice low as he replied,_
> 
> _“Well we don’t have much of a choice my dear. Remember what happened to the bike?” ___
> 
> __Eddie is surprised by Venom's thoughts and desires, and together they visit Dr. Dora Skirth at her place of work._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *blows a kiss to all my subscribers* thank you guys for all your support! I hope you enjoy the update ❤️

The University of California, San Francisco. That was Eddie’s destination that afternoon, and where he would find Dr. Skirth.

 

The cell phone number he had for her went unanswered whenever he called it, and it had been like that since the incident at the Life Foundation labs. Despite this, she hadn’t been that hard for Eddie to find. Perhaps his skills as an investigative reporter had helped, but it didn’t take much, just a quick search on Google and some digging on the University web pages. Eddie felt like he was in luck when he saw she was still working in San Francisco, and hadn’t fled the country to escape Drake.

 

He was on his way via public transport to the Parnassus campus, where Skirth was based, and he chose to sit at the back of the bus. There weren’t that many people on it, but he still tried to sit as far as possible from them; he could do without the strange looks every time he spoke out loud to Venom.

 

_**‘We don’t like the bus Eddie.’**_ Venom sulked.

 

Eddie attempted to keep his voice low as he replied,

 

“Well we don’t have much of a choice my dear. Remember what happened to the bike?”

 

Totaled. That was the state of Eddie’s bike after Drake’s men had chased them through the streets of the city until they crashed. The mechanic he went to see had said the cost of repair would have been as much if not more than the price of a new one. He had also made a comment about how the bike had been reduced to scrap, yet Eddie didn’t have a scratch on him; something he had to brush off with a stupid excuse about how he was lucky.

 

In any case, Eddie was thankful he’d taken out an insurance policy on the bike when he first bought it. But they were still waiting on the payout to come through, and even then, once he covered the insurance excess, he wasn’t sure they could afford a new one. There were other more pressing expenses, like mounting bills to pay.

 

_**‘Can’t we bite off the heads of the people who send us bills? They’re bad guys for making you worry.’** _

 

Eddie couldn’t suppress his small snort of laughter,

 

“No darlin’. We can’t go around the city doing that to anyone who sends us a bill.”

 

He noticed an old lady sat a few rows in front of them, turning her head to give him a scathing look. Their eyes met and it prompted her to turn back and face forward again.

 

_ ‘Sheesh, you think some people could mind their own business?’ _

 

However, Venom had not easily forgotten the topic of the bike,

 

_**‘We miss the bike Eddie....’** _

 

Venom’s voice was like a low rumble that Eddie could _feel_ , and suddenly his thoughts were filled with visions of him and Venom on the bike. He could practically feel the exhilaration and adrenaline rush he got from speeding through the city streets. But then there were more thoughts; images in his mind of things that had not happened. Venom’s physical form holding and touching Eddie while he drove the vehicle; prying clothes from him, feeling his body under his clothes. It felt so real and the memory was so vivid, almost like it _had_ happened in the past. Eddie’s mouth went dry when he realised he was seeing not his own thoughts, but Venom’s. He’d never seen Venom’s desires in this way.

 

Plunged deep in the vivid visions, Eddie only snapped from his trance when he felt the sensation of Venom’s tendril under his jeans, coiling around his thigh and squeezing. He grabbed it and squeezed in response.

 

“Cool it.” he muttered under his breath, “Not here.”

 

Soon Eddie was holding onto nothing, the sensation gone.

 

_**‘We miss the bike.’**_ Venom reiterated.

 

Despite trying to maintain his cool because they were on public transport, inside, Eddie was a flustered mess. He had to admit, in that moment, he missed the bike too.

 

However, there wasn’t much more time for lingering thoughts about things that could have happened on the bike if they still had it; they’d reached their destination.

 

 

* * *

 

Eddie approached the welcome desk and didn’t go unnoticed by the receptionist sat there. She looked up from her computer screen and smiled at him.

 

“Good afternoon! May I help you?”

 

“Yes, I’m here to see Dr. Skirth. Dr. Dora Skirth.”

 

Eddie was good at this, pretending like he was meant to be there. It was how he’d managed to get into a lot of places he wasn’t supposed to as part of his job.

 

“Of course!” the cheery receptionist picked up the phone, but before she pressed any of the keys, she looked back at Eddie, “I presume you have an appointment?”

 

“No-”

 

_ ‘Shit.’ _

 

The receptionist put the receiver down.

 

“I’m sorry sir, but you really should contact Dr. Skirth prior to visiting to arrange an appointment. We don’t just offer a walk-in service to see our staff members.”

 

The dramatic shift in the receptionist’s tone and manner was incredible.

 

“Sorry,” Eddie mussed the hair on the back of his head, trying to look apologetic, “I’m actually a friend of Dora’s. I’ve been meaning to return something to her, and she said it’d be fine to drop by her work when I was passing.”

 

The receptionist raised an eyebrow.

 

“For security purposes I can’t just let anyone who walks in off the street see our staff without an appointment. If I did, it’d be chaos. So I’m afraid I can’t let you see Dr. Skirth today.”

 

She didn’t apologise and even if she had, it would have come across as insincere because she certainly didn’t look sorry.

 

_**‘Let’s bite her head off.’** _

 

“No!”

 

She jumped in surprise at Eddie’s outburst, visibly tensing.

 

“Sorry- I meant: no, it’s urgent. Dora said I needed to come see her as soon as I could.”

 

The receptionist was not looking very convinced by Eddie’s ramblings, and now she was clearly nervous thanks to his outburst. He knew he’d fucked up, and he wasn’t sure how he as going to get around this hurdle. Using Venom to get past the receptionist was out of the question; too many witnesses and he didn’t want to make Venom’s existence so public.

 

“Eddie?”

 

He must have had his guardian angel looking out for him that day, because as if by a miracle, Skirth was there. She had been walking past the reception desk when the sight of Eddie stopped her in her tracks.

 

He needed to think fast,

 

“Dora! I was just telling your receptionist that I didn’t have an appointment, but you said it’d be no problem for me just to drop by and see you. I’ve got those documents I needed to return to you.”

 

Skirth seemed to take the hint,

 

“Oh yes, of course! I’m so sorry Janice, I should have told you earlier that I was expecting a visitor.”

 

“Dora, it’s not policy to take visitors without an appointment. I know you haven’t been here that long, so please make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

 

“I will, thank you for being so understanding.” Skirth smiled and it relieved the tension that Eddie had managed to build between himself the receptionist.

 

“Um, Eddie? Could you sign into the visitor’s book and then we’ll head to my office?”

 

“Oh? Yes! Of course.”

 

Eddie proceeded to sign in as instructed, and Janice handed him a visitors’ badge. She did so without a smile; obviously she hadn’t completely forgiven him for bending the rules. But Eddie tried to redeem himself with a grin and a 'thank you' as he took his pass.

 

He followed Skirth through the impressive University building without another word exchanged between them. They both waited until they were in her office, and after she shut the door behind them, she whipped around to face Eddie, an incredulous look on her face.

 

“What are you doing here?” she exclaimed.

 

“I’ve been trying to reach you, but the number I had for you is dead. I need your help with something.”

 

“What is it?” her eyes were wide with intrigue as she approached Eddie.

 

“Is this office private?” he asked in a lower voice.

 

Confusion washed over Skirth’s expression,

 

“Yes?”

 

“I mean- Is the door secure? I don’t want anyone walking in on this. If not, we’ll have a lot more explaining to do.”

 

Skirth didn’t argue; she went back to the door quickly, locked it, and then returned to where Eddie was stood, her curiosity causing her to dash around the office quickly.

 

“Okay, just promise not to freak out.”

 

Eddie held his hand out and thought about how he wanted Venom to show himself. And then there he was; a small blob of inky black goo fitting perfectly in the palm of Eddie’s hand. His white glossy eyes appeared and a small rows of sharp teeth.

 

Skirth looked like she was about to explode with excitement.

 

“Your symbiote! You’ve still got it!”

 

“Shh, keep your voice down! And _his_ name is Venom.”

 

Skirth muttered some apologies for her outburst and then she leaned down to get a closer look at Venom, reaching out with her index finger to pet his tiny head.

 

Her smile couldn’t get any wider, and then she was removing her glasses to wipe her eyes.

 

“Are you....crying?” Eddie was surprised.

 

Skirth stood upright again,

 

“I’m just so happy to see this symbiote, I mean, Venom again. We brought four back, and it seemed like none of them survived their time on Earth. But against all the odds, this little guy found the perfect host, and he’s still here.”

 

Eddie allowed Skirth some time to regain her composure. While he waited, he looked down at Venom’s small form in his hand. Small tendrils crept out from the main mass and wrapped themselves around Eddie’s fingers and threaded through the bracelets on his wrist. It was a gesture that seemed affectionate to Eddie and made him smile warmly; hopefully Skirth wouldn’t think too much of it.

 

“How did you find me?” Skirth asked, returning her glasses to their rightful place.

 

“The UCSF web pages,” Eddie took his gaze from Venom so he could look at her, “they’ve got a handy staff list page.”

 

“Oh, right! Of course.”

 

“Actually,” Eddie hesitated as he thought about Drake and his total lack of empathy for human life, “I was kinda relieved that I was able to find you.”

 

There was a silence; Skirth avoided Eddie’s gaze by turning her attention to Venom again. She seemed to understand what Eddie was trying to say, and there was some hesitation.

 

“How did you get away from Drake?” Eddie’s curiousity got the better of him, “Shit, I’m sorry. It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it.”

 

“No! It’s fine! It’s just.... I’m so sorry Eddie, but it was me who told Drake that you had Venom.” her headed dropped and she looked at the floor, ashamed with herself for what she’d done, “As soon as I told him it was you, I knew I’d made a mistake. He sent Treece and his men to go get you, but I didn’t have time to warn you. I knew as soon as they were done with you they’d come after me and my family next.”

 

When Skirth lifted her head, she looked like she was on the verge of tears again.

 

“I’m sorry I was so selfish, but I couldn’t let anything happen to my partner and my kids. Drake knew about my family and I was sure it wasn’t beyond him to hurt the people I love-”

 

“Hey, it’s okay. I understand.” Eddie interrupted Skirth, placing his free hand on her shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

 

He did understand; those first few days after he bonded with Venom and he knew Drake was after him, he had wanted Annie to stay away from them, to keep her safe. He didn’t blame Skirth for what she did, and he didn’t even want to think about how Drake had manipulated the information he needed from her.

 

“After Drake left me I went home as soon as I could and told my partner what happened. We didn’t want to waste any time. We picked up the kids from school and left the state without telling anyone where we were going. That’s why you couldn’t reach me. There was no way I was taking my cell with me; Drake could probably track me if I did.”

 

A small smile was returning to Skirth’s lips,

 

“But fortunately, it wasn’t long until he was in the rocket launch accident. I feel awful about being happy about someone dying, even someone like Drake. But when I saw the news I was relieved, because I knew my family was safe and we could return home.”

 

She looked at Venom and he returned her gaze,

 

“I guess I’ve got the both of you to thank for that, so any favour you need, I’m here to help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have noticed, this fic has grown from 4 chapters to 5.... I've written a lot more than I originally expected to! >.<
> 
> Let me know what you think about this chapter. Feedback is always greatly appreciated! :3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“How’d you do it?” Skirth asked._
> 
> _“Huh?”_
> 
> _“How’d you achieve such a perfect balance?_
> 
> Eddie begins to confide in Skirth about the lengths he goes to in order to care for Venom, and he receives her diagnosis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update? In the same week?? It's more likely than you think! Enjoy the new chapter ❤️

A few days later, Eddie was returning to the Parnassus campus to meet Skirth that evening, after normal working hours. She’d be able to run tests and give him a full physical check in the Biomedical Science department without prying eyes. Skirth’s staff card gave her access to the buildings she needed out of hours, and she also knew the security codes because it wouldn’t be her first time working late. No one would find her working late suspicious, and Eddie was relieved.

 

He’d explained to Skirth that she couldn’t tell anyone else about Venom. Hell, he hadn’t even told Anne that Venom had survived the rocket explosion. He felt it would be safer for himself, Venom, and others in his life if Venom’s survival was kept a secret; and Skirth fully understood. She promised she wouldn’t even tell her partner, which Eddie appreciated.

 

“Hey, V?” as they approached the building they’d be meeting Skirth at, Eddie remembered something he wanted to discuss with Venom, “I don’t think Skirth will ask, but could you try not to mention the type of stuff we do _together_ , you know, when we’re at home?”

 

**_‘You mean when we’re making love?’_ **

 

Eddie snickered in response to that.

 

“Yeah, I suppose you could call it that.” he rolled his eyes, imagining this was another phrase Venom had picked up from watching TV, but it still made him smile.

 

_**‘Why not Eddie?’** _

 

“Well there’s a saying that people use. It goes: ‘don’t kiss and tell’. So basically, you don’t have to go around telling everyone about who you’ve been kissing, and the other stuff too.”

 

_**‘Oh. We have not heard that one before.’** _

 

“It’s a very well known saying my dear. So if you talk to Skirth, you don’t need to tell her all the intimate details. In fact,” Eddie paused as he saw Skirth exit the building they were walking towards, “leave the talking to me.”

 

As he reached her, Eddie noticed she was already grinning; her excitement clearly evident.

 

“Hey Eddie. You ready?”

 

He returned her smile and replied,

 

“We’re both ready whenever you are.”

 

 

* * *

 

Skirth carried out a number of tests, as many as she could, obviously nothing involving an MRI scanner. By the time they were almost done, it had grown late.

 

Eddie was sat shirtless on a table while Skirth used a stethoscope to listen to his breathing.

 

“Breath in again Eddie,” she listened intently, “and out again.”

 

She removed the stethoscope from Eddie’s back,

 

“You can put your shirt back on now, thanks.”

 

As he pulled his t-shirt over his head, he watched as Skirth scribbled some notes down on the clipboard she’d been using all evening.

 

“Won’t your partner be worried about you staying out so late?”

 

“Oh, Clare will be fine.” Skirth looked up from her clipboard with a smile, “I told her I had some work that needed finishing tonight, so she’s on childcare duties while I work.”

 

“Clare?”

 

“I’ve never mentioned my partner’s name before have I? Sorry, her name’s Clare!” Skirth’s face lit up when she spoke about her partner.

 

For some reason it never clicked in Eddie’s mind that Skirth always used ‘partner’ instead of ‘husband’ or ‘boyfriend’. He just assumed, which he knew he really shouldn’t have, especially when he was the one in a secret relationship with his symbiote.

 

He decided to change the subject,

 

“So what’s the diagnosis?”

 

“Honestly? You’re in pretty great shape. I’m a little surprised after I saw some of the other reactions between hosts and their symbiotes in the Life Foundation labs.”

 

Eddie felt relief; he was in good health and that meant Venom must be in good health too. He felt better knowing he’d been looking after Venom properly.

 

“How’d you do it?” Skirth asked.

 

“Huh?”

 

“How’d you achieve such a perfect balance? It can’t just be about your compatibility with Venom. One of the other symbiotes found a perfect match, but after a few days, they started consuming their host’s vital organs until, well….you can imagine.”

 

“Well....” Eddie hesitated; he could get in a lot of trouble by telling Skirth this, however, she had been trustworthy so far, “if I tell you, it’s not pretty. Think you can cope?”

 

“Pfft, I’m a doctor Eddie. I had to perform surgery on cadavers when I was in med school, so I’m sure whatever you’ve got to tell me won’t gross me out.”

 

“Okay. Well, Venom needs to....eat people. And it can’t be dead people either; it’s gotta be living, breathing people.”

 

Skirth paled at the revelation.

 

“But we don’t just run around eating anyone! We’ve made an agreement that Venom will only eat people that deserve it, criminals and such.”

 

Skirth didn’t seem as troubled by the news as Eddie thought she would be. She lifted a hand to her chin and rubbed it thoughtfully before scribbling more notes down.

 

“What else does Venom eat?” she asked.

 

He was surprised by how quickly she got over the fact he was eating criminals on the regular.

 

“Well, anything I eat really.”

 

“No, no, but what does he _ask_ for?”

 

_**‘Chocolate! And tater tots!’** _

 

“Shh. Chocolate; he asks for chocolate, a lot. And tater tots.”

 

“Fascinating.” Skirth scrawled more notes.

 

“How often would you say you need to feed Venom?”

 

Eddie scratched the back of his head as he thought about it,

 

“He tends to eat with me whenever I do-”

 

“Three meals a day then?”

 

He considered their hectic lifestyle and shook his head.

 

“Not really. We don’t have a proper schedule.”

 

“Okay, as a medical professional, that’s my first suggestion.” she jotted something down before she continued, “You’ve got to give yourself some routine. Get up at a regular time every morning, and go to bed early every night. Eat three decent meals a day with healthy snacks in between if you’re hungry.”

 

Although Eddie had his shirt back on, Skirth’s eyes were fixed on his stomach.

 

“You could also do with exercising more regularly.”

 

“Hey! Are you saying I’m fat?”

 

“Not at all!” Skirth laughed, “I’m just saying, I’ve seen you without your shirt on, and maybe you could be looking after yourself a little bit more than you do.”

 

She winked and Eddie knew she was just being playful. He didn’t take offence as he also knew she was right; their chaotic lifestyle meant he didn’t make the time to work out like he used to. That combined with eating junk food at irregular times meant he had got a bit more chubby than he liked around the middle.

 

Skirth stood from the chair she’d been sitting on and began tidying her papers and equipment. Eddie took that as a cue that they would be leaving soon, so he jumped off the table and went to get his jacket.

 

“How often do you have to eat people?” Skirth asked as she returned the stethoscope to a drawer.

 

“I dunno. Maybe once every few days? Or once a week? It’s weird, but when he’s hungry, I can _feel_ it.”

 

“Hmm.” Skirth mulled over the information, pulling her notes out of her bag so she could add something to them, “You’ve given me a lot to think about Eddie. Hopefully we’re going to learn a lot more about Venom when I get some of the blood work results back.”

 

“So, that’s it?”

 

“For now.” she turned to look at him and smiled, “Like I said, just try to live a more active and healthy lifestyle. You and Venom are bonded, so if you’re fit and healthy, then I believe that Venom will be too.”

 

Her smile was reassuring; it made Eddie feel better. He was in decent shape, and that meant so was Venom, but he could do better. Skirth had given him her advice, which is what he’d come to her for, and now he was going to try his best to follow it until she had anything new to offer.

 

They left the building together, and it was dark outside. But it was a clear night, and a full moon was visible and making the night feel a little brighter.

 

“Time to head home- Oh, wait! I almost forgot!” Skirth fumbled with her bag, searching for something, and she soon pulled out paper and a pen, “Could I get your home address?”

 

“Sure?” Eddie took the paper and pen from her, but his confusion was evident.

 

“Sorry, it’s just we won’t always be able to meet on campus. I know I told you I work late, but it’s not something I do every week. If we keep meeting here, someone might flag it to University exec.”

 

“Oh sure, I understand.”

 

“And it means if you ever need a doctor to pay you or Venom a home visit, just give me a call and I can get to you as soon as I can!”

 

Eddie appreciated her enthusiasm for wanting to help them.

 

Skirth and Eddie bid each other a good night, with Skirth promising to call him as soon as she had any results from his blood tests.

 

As he walked away, hands in his coat pockets, Venom chimed in. He’d been unusually quiet throughout their time with Skirth.

 

_**‘We like her Eddie.’** _

 

“Yeah, me too.” Eddie smiled.

 

_**‘She is not like Carlton Drake. She actually cares about us.’** _

 

He nodded in agreement. Although the sky was free of clouds, it was a crisp, cold night, and the cool air made Eddie shiver. Despite this, it seemed a shame to waste the journey home on a bus.

 

“How about we walk home my darlin’?”

 

_**‘That sounds nice Eddie.’** _

 

As he continued walking, he felt something warm and soft forming on his shoulders and around his neck, taking the edge off the chilly night. It was Venom; he’d fashioned his physical form to look and feel like a scarf.

 

**“Eddie is cold.”** Venom muttered in a low voice.

 

“Thank you.” Eddie replied with a soft smile.

 

Eddie had wanted to look after Venom properly because it felt like the right thing to do. He had reasoned it was _the least_ he could do when Venom always looked after him. But now he was realising there was another reason for it; he wanted to look after Venom because he cared deeply about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this fic had 69 subscribers yesterday, and I was like "aw yeah B)" but then someone unsubscribed this morning and I'm like: GIVE ME MY 69 BACK ;3; lmao
> 
> thanks for all the positive feedback and responses so far, it's always appreciated and I love hearing from you guys ❤️


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a few days since Skirth gave Eddie a full physical exam, and while he's working on his next article, he becomes distracted, remembering a conversation him and Venom had the day they first went to visit Skirth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience!! Since the last update I've been so busy sorting stuff out for Christmas, then going abroad to visit and spend time with family during the holidays. But the new update is about 3000 words long, and I never usually write so much for a single chapter, so hopefully that makes up for the long wait! Enjoy ❤️

**_‘Eddie.... Bored.’_ **

 

“Yeah, me too.” Eddie stood up from his desk, stretching to relieve the discomfort that had been growing in his body. He’d been sat in the same position working on his laptop for too long.

 

“Maybe we could do with a break?” he added, making his way to the couch.

 

He’d been working on his next article for the San Francisco Chronicle, and had made good progress with it in the morning. But as the afternoon wore on, he found himself getting tired and easily distracted; probably a sign that it was time for a break.

 

Eddie grabbed the TV remote from the coffee table and sprawled on the couch. Just as he was getting comfortable, he thought about making himself a coffee. However, Venom beat him to it. While Eddie remained seated, clicking on the TV, Venom’s snake-like form slithered into the kitchen area and poured him a coffee from the pot that he’d brewed a while ago.

 

Venom returned, his head floating near Eddie, while tendrils handed him the cup of coffee. Eddie took a sip; the coffee machine had kept it warm enough so it was still enjoyable to drink.

 

“Thanks.” Eddie smiled.

 

**“You’re welcome.”** Venom returned it with his own toothy grin.

 

“Wanna watch some TV with me?”

 

**“Sure.”**

 

They settled on the couch together, Eddie laid out and Venom just a small blob resting on his stomach, about the size of a cat, radiating warmth that Eddie could feel through his sweater. He put some daytime TV show on, something that didn’t require too much brainpower to watch, and his hand reached down to stroke Venom affectionately. Spending time like this together was nice.

 

The show hadn’t been on long before it went to the ads, and Eddie’s mind began to wander. That morning when he checked his bank account, the money from the bike insurance had come through; a welcome boost to his balance. But it had got him thinking about his conversation with Venom the other day on the bus. After meeting Skirth and being distracted by her enthusiasm at getting to study Venom again, Eddie hadn’t got his chance to discuss it with him.

 

Eddie turned his attention from the TV to the mass on top of him. Most likely reading his thoughts, Venom was already looking back at him.

 

“Hey uh, about the other day, when you said you missed the bike?”

 

**“Yes.”**

 

“I was thinking, how about you _show me why_ you miss the bike?”

 

Eddie had not intended for his break from work to take this direction, but he supposed this was one of the perils of working from home; the privacy to do whatever they wanted.

 

Venom got the gist of what Eddie was suggesting, and he smirked.

 

The form in Eddie’s lap disappeared, and he pressed the remote again to switch the TV off. He didn’t get much time to wonder where Venom had gone, because soon he could _feel_ him.

 

Tendrils spread over his body, under his clothes, the same way he’d seen it in his vision of the two of them on the bike together. Numerous areas of Eddie’s skin were being caressed and stroked, and he let out a satisfied sigh.

 

The thought alone of what Venom wanted to do on the bike already had Eddie half hard, but Venom wasted no time. One of his tendrils cupped Eddie’s crotch and encouraged him to get harder with caresses.

 

“Too many clothes, don’t you think?” Eddie said, a flirty tone to his voice.

 

Venom’s face appeared, hovering a small distance above Eddie’s. He didn’t reply, instead his tongue worked its way into Eddie’s mouth, and Eddie responded with an eager moan.

 

They kissed deeply while tendrils made quick work of Eddie’s clothes, simultaneously pushing his sweater up to reveal his torso, and pulling his trousers down, releasing his cock from his underwear. His clothes weren’t fully removed, but he didn’t care. He was too busy eagerly rocking his hips into Venom’s touch.

 

This was good. In fact, this was fantastic. However, there was so much _more_ Eddie and Venom had yet to explore together. There was something in particular he’d been thinking about more and more lately, and now seemed as good a time as any to suggest it to Venom.

 

Hands on either side of Venom’s face, Eddie pulled away from their kiss. He smiled and licked his lips before he spoke,

 

“Do you wanna try something new with me, my love?”

 

**“Yes, of course Eddie. Just think it and we’ll do it for you”**

 

“Hold up. How about I _show_ you?”

 

Venom’s eyes narrowed in confusion and he did not reply.

 

“Get the lube from my dresser.”

 

Without leaving Eddie, a tendril slipped around the partition to where the bedroom area was. He could hear it rooting through the drawers, and soon it was back, the small bottle of lube held by a few inky coils.

 

Eddie smirked, taking it from Venom as he sat up.

 

“I’m gonna need to reposition myself for this.”

 

Venom watched as Eddie got up off the couch, kicking off the pants and underwear that were around his ankles, and pulling his sweater off entirely.

 

He got back on the item of furniture, this time on his hands and knees instead of lying on his back. Propping himself up with his elbows on the arm of the couch, he popped open the bottle and squeezed a generous amount of lube into the palm of his hand, then coated his fingers.

 

It had been a long time since he’d done this to himself, so he was feeling a bit out of practice. Eddie didn’t mind being an exhibitionist, but he still felt both excitement and nerves brewing at the thought of Venom watching him finger himself.

 

“Watch me.” he muttered, arm reaching round and adjusting his position to get a better reach.

 

He teased his asshole first, emitting a small gasp at the cold sensation of the lube against his skin. He turned his head to look behind him, and could see Venom’s floating head watching him. Eddie’s mouth felt dry, so he swallowed.

 

He pushed one finger in and it was tight, and he let out a loud gasp. He turned to look at Venom again, and his glossy white eyes were wide, taking in the scene before him.

 

**“Outstanding.”**

 

It made Eddie moan louder; he felt his face growing warm. He pulled out and then pushed back in, the lube helping him to get deeper. His mind drifted onto thoughts of Venom doing this; he’d teased and probed Eddie’s asshole before, but never went inside him like this. Fuck, Eddie couldn’t get the thought out of his mind now he was fingering himself. He imagined Venom fingering him with one of his tendrils, perhaps one of his large hands on Eddie’s hip, holding him steady, gripping him tightly.

 

Reaching a steady pace, Eddie decided to add another finger and groaned loudly feeling how tight he still was. But thinking about feeling Venom inside of him in this way egged him on, and he moved his hips into each thrust of his fingers.

 

**“You look so good Eddie.”**

 

“Yeah? You like this?”

 

**“Yes.”** there was a pause before Venom continued, **“May we touch you?”**

 

Eddie's cock twitched at that

 

“Fuck- yes. I want you to touch me. I want you....my darlin’.”

 

Eddie continued to finger fuck himself as he felt Venom’s chin rest on his shoulder. Venom’s warm physical form spread over his body again, caressing his ass, winding around his cock and stroking it slowly.

 

“That’s nice.” Eddie moaned. He couldn’t decide whether to keep pushing against the fingers inside him or thrust into Venom’s touch; he was spoiled for choice.

 

**“Can we-?”**

 

Venom didn’t seem to know how to ask.

 

“Finger me?”

 

**“Yes.”**

 

“Fuck. Yes please.”

 

Eddie pulled his own fingers from himself and whined at the loss of the sensation inside him. It was short lived when he felt it being replaced by Venom.

 

He copied Eddie’s actions, pushing into him and then pulling out again, keeping the same pace as Eddie did.

 

“Yeah, yeah, fuck. Just like that.”

 

**“We like this Eddie, and we like watching you do it to yourself too.”**

 

“Yeah, you like that huh?”

 

**“Yes.”**

 

Venom pushed deeper and it made Eddie exclaim loudly, shouting more obscenities.

 

Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door that made them both freeze.

 

_ ‘Who the fuck is that?’ _

 

After a period of total silence, a timid voice called through the door,

 

“Uh, Eddie? It’s Dora.”

 

_ ‘Shit. Oh shit.’ _

 

All traces of Venom’s physical form abruptly disappeared into Eddie. Between that and his attempt to get off the couch to make himself decent, Eddie rather clumsily fell off instead, banging his leg against the coffee table.

 

“Fuck!”

 

“You okay?” Dora inquired through the door.

 

“Yeah, yeah.... Just great.” he was naked, on his back on the floor of his apartment, clutching the knee he’d just slammed into the table, which was throbbing with pain, “Just great.”

 

Eddie stood as quickly as he could, scooping up his clothes from the floor.

 

“Just give me a minute, okay?” he called out to Skirth.

 

He could hear a meek ‘okay’ from her side of the front door.

 

As Eddie attempted to make himself decent again, it seemed no matter what he did, he was taking much too long. He tried to pull his sweater over his head, but accidentally dropped it on the floor before managing it. He had his jeans, but where had his underpants gone? On his hands and knees on the floor again, he searched. Somehow they’d managed to slip under the couch. Eventually dressed, Eddie made a dash for his bathroom, where he washed his hands and straightened out his hair in the mirror.

 

What felt to him like an eternity later, he was finally opening the door to Dora. Her face was beet red; she was biting her lower lip in order to suppress a smile.

 

_ ‘Fuck. She knows.’ _

 

Eddie hoped she might not mention it; that she might pretend she hadn’t heard anything. But he could feel the warmth creeping up along the back of his neck, and his face felt hot too. His body wasn’t working with him, and instead was giving away his embarrassment.

 

“How long have you been stood there?” Eddie asked, but part of him didn’t want to know the answer.

 

“Long enough to have a good idea about what you’ve been doing, and with who.” Skirth smirked.

 

Eddie ran a hand over his face and let out a moan of despair; Skirth just walked past him into the apartment and didn’t even wait for Eddie to close the door before exclaiming,

 

“Why didn’t you tell me that Venom is capable of speaking out loud, and not just to you?”

 

“Huh? Wait. What?”

 

Eddie was confused; that had not been the first question he was expecting from Skirth.

 

“I heard him! I heard him talking to you! I thought you could only hear him in your head. Where is he? Let me talk to him myself!”

 

Still dumbfounded, but Eddie was kind of reluctant to let Venom speak freely with Skirth. Venom on the other hand did not share the same concerns, and his floating head manifested next to Eddie, for Skirth to see.

 

“Hello Venom.” she couldn’t suppress the huge grin growing on her face.

 

**“Hello Dora Skirth.”**

 

She looked like a child in a candy store, who’d just been told she could eat as much as she wanted.

 

“Wow. I almost can’t believe this.” her voice was quiet, filled with awe, and it seemed like she was talking more to herself than Eddie. In fact, Eddie felt a bit like he was intruding on a private moment between Skirth and Venom, as she approached the alien, eyes filled with amazement, and her hand reaching forward to touch Venom’s face.

 

Venom seemed to be enjoying the attention from Skirth, not only allowing her to stroke his face, but even leaning into her touch. It somehow reminded Eddie of when cats headbutt as a sign of affection.

 

“Uh, sorry to interrupt, but what are you doing here?” Eddie asked.

 

“Oh! Yes!” Skirth’s attention turned from Venom to Eddie, her expression still smiley and excitable, “I got your test results back!”

 

“My blood test?”

 

“Well, yes, but the blood work results weren’t particularly illuminating. It was actually the urine sample you gave me.”

 

“My....urine?” again, this was not what Eddie was expecting.

 

“Yes! When I tested the sample you gave me, I noticed there was a high urinary phenethylamine concentration, but I mean, _abnormally_ high. I did a bit of research into it, and high levels of phenethylamine are often found in urine after intense exercise, but I knew that wasn’t an explanation for why you were getting these results.”

 

Eddie’s head was spinning; he was a clever guy, but this science stuff was going completely over his head, especially when Skirth was rattling on about it so quickly.

 

“I had to think about it overnight, because at first I couldn’t see any link between your high levels of phenethylamine and anything else you told me when I gave you the full physical. But then, I had a ‘eureka’ moment this afternoon! One of my grad students brought in some chocolate to share with everyone in the office, and they were talking to the other students about the benefits of it, and I remembered….you said Venom craves chocolate!”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“And do you know what chocolate is high in?”

 

“Phenethyla-something?” Eddie attempted to make an intelligent guess.

 

“Exactly!” Skirth exclaimed, causing Eddie to jump in surprise, “Chocolate is known to have high levels of phenethylamine! But you know what else? Humans naturally produce phenethylamine, which will be why Venom craves live humans too!”

 

Eddie supposed he was glad for the explanation as to why Venom wanted to and needed to eat living people, but seeing Skirth shout about her discoveries so excitedly was a little unnerving, to say the least.

 

“Actually,” Skirth was smirking now, a slight blush to her face, “you know what else produces naturally occurring phenethylamine in humans?”

 

“No.”

 

From Skirth’s mischievous demeanour, Eddie was sure he wasn’t going to like the answer.

 

“Being in love.” she giggled.

 

Eddie blushed too, being reminded that Skirth had heard him moaning desperately just moments earlier when him and Venom were sharing an intimate moment.

 

“You’re gonna have to tell me how it works some time.” Skirth said.

 

“How _what_ works?”

 

“You know? How you and Venom....” she trailed off, either unsure or unable to finish off her sentence, but she waggled her eyebrows and Eddie knew exactly what she was suggesting, “My interest is purely scientific Eddie, I promise.”

 

Eddie scoffed,

 

“Scientific my ass.”

 

**“We make love with Eddie.”**

 

“Shut up!” Eddie scrambled to try and cover Venom’s mouth with his hands, in some vain attempt to silence him, “You sure picked a fine time to chime in and talk to Skirth.”

 

Dora was laughing as she watched Eddie struggle with Venom’s floating form. Once she had regained some composure, Eddie turned to her again.

 

“So is that why you came down here, to my apartment? To tell me you figured out which chemical it is Venom needs to eat in order to survive? I mean, I am grateful, but I didn’t expect when I gave you my address that you’d be eavesdropping on us and our private business.”

 

“I doubt it’s that private Eddie. Pretty sure everyone in this apartment block could hear you.” Skirth snickered.

 

The heat rose along the back of Eddie’s neck again, and while he suffered embarrassment, he felt something different from Venom: pride. He was proud that he was able to get Eddie to make such loud noises when they were together. He glared at Venom.

 

“Anyway, no, I didn’t just come here to embarrass you. In fact, figuring out that Venom depends on phenethylamine is a breakthrough, and I think you’ll never have to eat a criminal again.”

 

“Really?” Eddie was in disbelief.

 

“Yes! We can make synthetic phenethylamine in the lab and you can take it as a supplement. I mean, it won’t be that straightforward, there’ll be some trial and error involved while we figure out the correct dosage-”

 

“Skirth,” Eddie interrupted to try and stop her from falling into one of her scientific ramblings again, “you’re telling me- I mean us, that we won’t have to go out and kill anyone else?”

 

“Yes,” Skirth smiled, full of hope, “that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

 

Eddie was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. He didn’t like having to go out at night and kill people, even if they were lowlifes and criminals. However, he’d gotten used to it because he felt like he had no choice. He needed to do it for Venom’s well-being; he would do anything for Venom, the same way Venom would do anything for him. The realisation that there was an alternative way to give Venom what he needed filled him with an enormous sense of relief. Giving Skirth his thanks alone didn’t feel like enough.

 

“Can I hug you?” he asked with open arms.

 

Skirth laughed and smiled,

 

“Of course!”

 

They embraced with Venom still hovering nearby and watching on, and Eddie added,

 

“Thank you so much.”

 

“No, it’s my pleasure.” Skirth said as she pulled away, “I’m happy to help people in need, especially those people who are my friends.”

 

“Listen, let me do something for you to say thanks.” Eddie checked the time on his watch, “Let _us_ treat you. Can we take you out and buy you dinner?”

 

Skirth grinned at the proposal,

 

“Yes! That would be lovely.”

 

“Does right now work for you?”

 

“Actually, it does! I told Clare I’d be working late tonight when I decided to come and tell you about my findings, so her and the kids will be having dinner without me.”

 

Eddie grabbed his jacket and opened the front door for Skirth. She thanked him and made her way out into the corridor. Venom realised they were going out into public again, so he disappeared from sight.

 

“So, is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?” Eddie asked as he locked the door behind him, “Italian? Chinese? The choice is yours.”

 

“Hm? Well, there’s a nice sushi place nearby. Do you like sushi?”

 

“That works for me.” Eddie replied as they walked down the corridor together to leave the apartment block.

 

“Good! Did you know that raw fish, like that used in sushi, is also a great source of phenethylamine?” there was Skirth’s smirk again.

 

It was infectious, and Eddie smiled in return,

 

“Wow. You never quit with the science stuff, do you?”

 

“Nope. In fact, over dinner I will tell you about all the other foods high in phenethylamine that I think you should include in your diet from now on.”

 

Eddie laughed, but admittedly he was looking forward to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments always appreciated! Let me know what you guys think ❤️
> 
> I also got myself an Instagram account recently, so please feel free to follow me on there if you want :3 [lemonmangoessss](https://www.instagram.com/lemonmangoessss/)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _**‘We want to try the thing from yesterday. The thing that makes Eddie loud.’** _
> 
> _“Oh.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gratuitous porn? ......gratuitous porn
> 
> Enjoy! ❤️

**_‘Eddie.’_ **

 

“Hnnnnh?”

 

_**‘Eddie, wake up.’** _

 

“Wha-? Wha timesit?”

 

Eddie could hardly get his words out, sleep trying to lull him back to his dreams.

 

He was laying flat on his stomach in the middle of the bed, bundled up in a warm mess of blankets. He reached out clumsily to try and find his phone, and when he did, he checked the time.

 

“It’s not even 6:00 am yet?! V, go back to sleep!”

 

Eddie left his phone on the bedside table and pulled the blankets over his head, an action that clearly meant he intended to go back to sleep.

 

_**‘No Eddie. Time to wake up. Want to try something.’** _

 

The blankets began pulling away from Eddie and hands manifested on his back, grabbing him around the waist.

 

He buried his face in the pillow, attempting to ignore Venom,

 

“No V. Too early. More sleep.”

 

He could feel the soft tugging at the waistband of his underwear; sleep seemed like a distant memory.

 

_**‘We want to try the thing from yesterday. The thing that makes Eddie loud.’** _

 

“Oh.”

 

Eddie hadn’t stayed out that late last night. Skirth took him to a small Japanese restaurant that was nearby, tucked away on the corner of a busy street. It did excellent sushi, and had an interesting selection of international beers. As the conversation between Skirth and Eddie flowed, he lost track of time, or rather, he lost track of how many beers he’d ordered as their meal progressed.

 

He seemed to recall Skirth telling him jokingly that it was her ‘doctor’s orders’ that he should go to bed early and get plenty of rest, not only for his own well-being, but for his _partner’s_ too. And that’s exactly what he did; when he got back to his apartment, he went straight to bed. But obviously, the events from the previous day were still playing on Venom’s mind.

 

“Don’t you ever get tired of being horny all the time?” Eddie lifted his head from the pillow, conceding defeat.

 

_**‘We only think of making love as often as you do Eddie.’** _

 

Eddie blushed and he went back to hiding his face in the pillow, letting out an exasperated sigh.

 

Venom, clearly aware that Eddie was giving in to him, continued with his persistence. Tendrils slipped under the waistband and began pulling Eddie’s underwear down. He helped by lifting his hips off the bed. That wasn’t enough for Venom though, and he used his influence over Eddie’s body to get him to kneel on the bed, his face still on the pillow, and his ass in the air.

 

The sudden movement of his own body against his will made Eddie yelp in surprise. If he wasn’t fully awake before, he certainly was now. The large clawed hands that had been on his waist moved down to cup and squeeze the cheeks of his ass. Eddie groaned at that and smiled to himself. He never thought Venom had particular preferences, but he was starting to think that yesterday’s venture had converted him to an ass man- well, ass alien.

 

Venom’s hands went back to Eddie’s waist, caressing and massaging the sides of his torso, and tendrils replaced where his hands had been. They squeezed his ass and pulled his cheeks apart, making it very clear what Venom wanted. More tendrils continued to spread, some winding around Eddie’s thighs and squeezing gently, others wandering in between Eddie’s legs to find his cock, which was beginning to get hard. Something about Venom’s eagerness to try fingering him again excited him.

 

Every action elicited content moans from Eddie, who kept his eyes closed, and now didn’t seem to mind being woken up before dawn. He heard a rattling next to him, which he guessed was Venom searching for the lube in the bedside table drawer. That caused further excitement to bubble in the pit of Eddie’s stomach. He was thinking again about how much he wanted to feel Venom inside of him.

 

He heard the cap of the bottle snap open, and wondered if Venom was copying his actions from yesterday, covering tendrils with a generous amount of lube. Eddie waited and soon felt the cool sensation of the substance against him.

 

“Aah.” he had been expecting it, however the coldness of it still made him gasp in surprise.

 

Venom was cautious and gentle at first; Eddie felt how Venom rubbed over his entrance and only probed now and then, but never pushing in too deep. He was testing the waters, making sure Eddie was comfortable and relaxed, while other tendrils continued to smooth over his skin with more caresses.

 

Eddie wasn’t getting impatient, he actually liked how much care Venom took with him, but he wanted to let him know it was okay to go further,

 

“I want to feel you inside me V. You can go deeper, if you want.”

 

The tendrils wrapped around Eddie’s thighs tensed, and Eddie could feel Venom’s excitement through the bond they shared.

 

He didn’t need telling twice; he pushed in, slowly and carefully. Eddie gasped, trying to get used to the sensation inside of him. Venom did as he’d seen Eddie do the day before, after pushing in he pulled out again, slowly, then re-entered Eddie and repeated the action, each time going a little deeper.

 

Eddie chewed his lower lip to try and hold back his eager moans, and his grip on the pillow beneath him grew tighter.

 

“That’s really good my love.”

 

He wanted to be encouraging, and let Venom know he was doing a good job. He imagined Venom would continue to copy his actions from yesterday by adding another finger when Eddie was ready for it. Well, it wouldn’t be a finger. Perhaps another tendril, or he’d make the current one he was using thicker? Eddie didn’t want to get distracted by the logistics of it; he abandoned those thoughts and instead concentrated on the feeling inside him, pushing deeper with each thrust. He found himself rocking his hips in time with Venom’s rhythm.

 

Then Venom stopped. He was still inside Eddie, deep inside him, but he didn’t pull out again. Eddie opened his eyes, surprised at the stop in motion.

 

“Hey V? Are you alri- Aah. Ah!”

 

It was a feeling, hot and tight in Eddie’s gut, like a firework had suddenly gone off. He accidentally bit down on his bottom lip too hard in shock, and now he couldn’t hold back his shouts of ecstasy. Venom had found his prostate. He had no idea how Venom _knew_ about this particular spot and what it could do, but now his tendril was deep inside Eddie, and massaging it.

 

“Aah! Oh fuck! Holy shit!”

 

It felt _so_ good, and Eddie was concerned he wouldn’t last long. He worried his pillow would be ripped in two with how tightly he was gripping it, and his knees felt weak; he wasn’t sure how much longer he would be able to hold this position.

 

As Eddie continued to shout curses, he hadn’t noticed how quiet Venom had become. But suddenly, his body was moving without his authority again.

 

_**‘Need to see your face Eddie. Your beautiful face.’** _

 

_ ‘Beautiful?!’ _

 

Eddie had been flipped over to lay on his back, and the tendril inside him rubbed harder. His lower back arched off the mattress as he squirmed on the bed, and he grabbed the pillow nearest to him to cover his face, biting on the fabric of the pillowcase.

 

He was completely unravelling under Venom’s touch, more than any time before. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been with someone and they’d been able to do this to him; to make him feel like he was losing control, but in the best way possible. Maybe he was a little embarrassed to let Venom see him this way, and maybe that’s why he was trying to suppress his groans and hide his face with the pillow. Eddie wasn’t sure; he couldn’t think clearly.

 

However the pillow was torn from his grasp, a tendril flinging it across the room.

 

_**‘No! We want to see Eddie! Our beautiful, handsome Eddie!’** _

 

There was something different about Venom’s voice, noticeable in the tone, but Eddie could _feel_ it. What Venom was doing to him was clearly having an effect on Venom too; he was also unravelling.

 

“Hnn- Not fair. You gotta let me see you too!”

 

Then Venom’s face was there, floating above Eddie, teeth on show, and tongue slithering out. It traced along Eddie’s collarbone, then slowly up over his throat, meeting his jawline and tracing that too. It made Eddie push his head back, exposing more of the skin on his neck. He liked how vulnerable it made him, and yet, Venom only treated him with adoration and care.

 

Venom’s tongue soon made it’s way to Eddie’s mouth, and he was ready, mouth open, meeting Venom’s tongue with his own. And although Venom’s mouth was preoccupied, Eddie could hear him in his mind.

 

_**‘Eddie…. You look so good like this, with us inside you. We like when you shout for us, Eddie. We like, when things we do, make you loud.’** _

 

As if to reiterate that, Venom put more pressure on Eddie’s prostate again, and it made his entire body react. Tremors travelled throughout him, making his legs tremble involuntarily, and causing him to throw his head back, pulling away from his kiss with Venom. His hands flew up into his hair, gripping it, pulling it, and now there was no holding back his loud moans.

 

Then it was over. Despite his reluctance to finish so soon, Eddie couldn’t help it; Venom had pushed him over the edge so quickly. He found himself thrusting against nothing as he came; Venom had hardly touched his cock and yet he was a writhing, panting mess on the bed. He watched as come painted itself across his stomach, and moved his hips, trying to ride out the high for a little longer.

 

He moved against the tendril inside him until he was totally spent. Exhausted, he was laid flat out, breathing heavily. He whined as he felt Venom pull out of him slowly. Above all else, he was exhausted, and it seemed Venom felt that way too. Venom’s physical form surrounded Eddie, like a blanket, bundling him up and keeping him warm. Venom’s head laid down next to Eddie’s, and Eddie turned to look at him.

 

**“Sorry Eddie.”**

 

“Sorry?” he was still out of breath, “What for?”

 

**“Eddie did not want to finish so soon-”**

 

“Hey,” he interrupted, “shh, it’s fine.”

 

Despite Venom enveloping his body, he was still able to raise a hand and rest it against the side of Venom’s face. He leaned forward and planted a small kiss between Venom’s eyes.

 

“It’s fine.” Eddie said again, more softly this time, and he could feel his eyes growing heavy, “You know, I feel like I could fall back asleep, right now.”

 

**“We are tired too Eddie.”**

 

That was the last thing Eddie heard before he fell back asleep, his hand still cupping the side of Venom’s face, and Venom’s hand laying over his own.

 

\--

 

A few hours later, Eddie was preparing for another day of writing. He’d showered, dressed, and was now in the kitchen setting up the coffee machine to brew a fresh pot. As he moved around the kitchen area, he whistled a happy melody; he was in a good mood.

 

“Hey, what do you want for breakfast V?” he flicked the switch on the coffee machine, and then searched through the cupboards and fridge.

 

_**‘Anything you want Eddie.’** _

 

“Hmm, let’s see.”

 

He tried to marry together some of the ingredients he’d seen, figuring out what he could cook with them, but also, trying to think of something new for Venom to try.

 

“I haven’t made it in a while, but how about French toast? I’ll need to look up a recipe for it though.”

 

Eddie had forgotten his phone on the bedside table, so he couldn’t quickly search for a recipe on it. He walked over to his laptop instead, and to his surprise, it was still on.

 

“Oh shit,” he sat at the desk, “I must have forgot to switch it off before we went out with Skirth.”

 

He hit a key to wake it up from rest mode, expecting to see the article he’d been working on yesterday come up on the screen. However, that’s not what he saw. The internet browser was open, several tabs lining the top of the screen, and Eddie felt his face growing hot as he saw the title of the article on the tab that was currently open.

 

> _ The Secrets of the Prostate _
> 
> _ How to give your man the best orgasm he’s ever had! _

 

Eddie covered his face with a hand, rubbing his stubbly beard while letting out a sign.

 

“My darlin’, have you been using the laptop?”

 

Venom’s face formed next to Eddie, and he replied,

 

**“Yes. While Eddie is sleeping.”**

 

Another exasperated sigh,

 

“That’s fine, I guess. We’ve only got one, and we need to share. But maybe, just maybe, in the future you could close the tabs you’ve got open?”

 

Eddie opened up the history of the browser before really thinking about it; once he saw several hits on Pornhub in his history, he wished he hadn’t looked. He slammed the laptop shut.

 

“And I need to teach you how to delete your history before I use the laptop.”

 

It was suddenly becoming very clear to Eddie why Venom had been so skilled during that morning’s activity. His symbiote was researching sex tips online.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ["Surf the web! Surf the web!"](https://youtu.be/kDSCeKKXp9I)
> 
> I'm so sorry, but please imagine Venom like that when he's googling sex tips on Eddie's laptop lmao :')
> 
> Kudos and comments always appreciated, and thanks to those of you reading my little fic series! There will be more to come ❤️


End file.
